People Beyond Numbers

People Beyond Numbers

Mohammed Al-Areer

July 30, 2014

Mohammed Al-Areer (pictured above with his daughter Raneem), 31, was killed when his house was hit by a rocket. He was a celebrity in Gaza as he impersonated a mischievous chicken named Karkour in a program run on Al-Aqsa TV called Tomorrow’s Pioneers.

The 31-year-old’s brother, Refaat, wrote on the Electronic Intifada website that his death “will come as a shock to the large numbers of children whose favorite part of Friday was watching Karkour misbehave and helping him change into a better Karkour, thanks to their advice, only for him to relapse at the start of the next episode into another anti-social behaviour.

“By killing my brother, Israel has surely killed a promising talent, and deprived thousands of children of a funny and educational program.”

Al-Areer had two children, aged 4 and 1, and was the 26th member of his family to be killed by Israeli attacks.

“His memories, his tales, his jokes, his innocent smile will live forever through us, through his two beautiful children, and through the thousands of children who loved him on TV and in real life,” concluded his brother, Refaat.